Afghan insurgents in weakened state, claim US, NATO forces
November 15th, 2010 - 2:03 pm ICT by ANI
Kabul, Nov 15 (ANI): US and NATO officials have claimed that insurgents in Afghanistan are facing financial problems and are in a weakened state after a fierce summer of fighting.
In recent weeks, US and coalition troops have launched several large scale clearing operations to drive the Taliban out of key areas in Southern Afghanistan.
According to Fox News, in an effort to support their claims, US and NATO officials released a new Taliban recruiting video. The film shows a Taliban commander appealing to the Muslims in the Gulf States and Southwest Asia to donate money so that improvised explosive device (IED) supplies for suicide bombers could be bought.
However independent analysts have said that the Taliban has long been supported by Arabs in the Middle East, so verifying US and NATO claims that this plea for cash is evidence that the Taliban are in financial straights is impossible.
As the White House and Pentagon begin their December review of the current US strategy in Afghanistan, US commanders have publicly stated the surge of US troops is beginning to show positive results.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has urged the US to reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in his country and end the increased American Special Operations forces night raids that aggravate Afghans and could embolden Taliban insurgents.
“The time has come to reduce military operations. The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan . . . to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life. The raids are a problem always. They were a problem then, they are a problem now. They have to go away,” Karzai added. (ANI)
- Karzai urges US to reduce special 'night raid' operations in Afghanistan - Nov 15, 2010
- Clinton defends US Afghan war strategy after Karzai criticism - Nov 16, 2010
- Night raids breaking back of Taliban: NYT - Jul 09, 2011
- Pakistan's terror safe havens remain security challenge, says US - May 02, 2012
- Special forces winning battle against Taliban insurgents: US, UK commanders - Mar 16, 2011
- NATO rejects rights group report on Afghanistan as 'one-sided' and 'propagandistic' - Nov 05, 2010
- Afghan officials dismiss split between US and Kabul govt over Karzai criticism - Nov 16, 2010
- Karzai, Petraeus 'agree' on Special Forces raids in Afghanistan - Nov 19, 2010
- Kabul pact: Pakistan's India discomfort makes it hard, says US (Lead) - May 02, 2012
- Seven militants killed in Afghanstan - Mar 18, 2012
- No pact with US until night raids end: Karzai - Feb 20, 2012
- UK war effort in Helmand branded 'utter failure' by US, Afghanistan: Wikileaks - Dec 03, 2010
- Afghanistan seeks early security handover: Karzai - Mar 16, 2012
- Afghan Taliban "not on the ropes yet": NATO chief - Feb 02, 2011
- 'Afghan war being hampered due to Pak's unwillingness to hit terror havens on border' - Dec 15, 2010
Tags: afghanistan president hamid, afghans, arabs, coalition troops, explosive device, fox news, gulf states, hamid karzai, independent analysts, insurgents, key areas, military operations, nato claims, nato forces, nato officials, president hamid karzai, southern afghanistan, southwest asia, special operations forces, suicide bombers